With football season upon us, I figured it was time to revisit this old chestnut. But before you dismiss this as the same nonsense I wrote in 2023 and 2024, I would like to direct your attention to the reigning national champion: Indiana. The Hoosiers went 16-0. Indiana! College football has therefore formally surrendered its right to tell Kansas what is impossible.
Sure, KU is coming off back-to-back 5-7 seasons. Sure, the Jayhawks were picked 12th in the Big 12. Sure, they did not place anyone on the preseason all-conference first team. Sure, they are replacing a quarterback who spent roughly six presidential administrations in Lawrence.
But Isaiah Marshall has won the starting job, Dylan Edwards and Yasin Willis are ready to run behind an experienced offensive line, and the defense has speed (or so says the sunshine and rainbows). A cautious person might look at all of that and ask whether Kansas can get back to a bowl game.
But this is not the article for cautious people, and as I’m sure you’ll agree by the end, all of this is totally reasonable. All Kansas needs is a first-year starting quarterback to become a star, the offensive line to hold, the defense to take a major step forward, the close games to break the right way, no bad 4th quarters, and 16 consecutive wins.
Here is how it is going to go down.
vs. Long Island
LIU already has a game under its belt, a 42-21 loss to North Dakota. The Sharks trailed 42-0 at halftime, then outscored the Fighting Hawks 21-0 in the second half. That kind of perseverance is admirable. It will be rewarded with a quiet flight home.
Typically, the season opener brings to mind Georgia Tech’s 222-0 win over Cumberland in 1916. I have predicted this record would fall twice now, and I see no reason to abandon a perfectly sound prediction just because it has been wrong every time.
Kansas 224, LIU 0
vs. Missouri-Columbia
The University of Missouri at Columbia (aka UM-C) won 42-31 last year in the first football Border War since 2011. Kansas took a big first half lead, blew a fourth quarter lead, and it’s fine, whatever, we should never have agreed to this series, I’m fine… I’ll be fine… (I’m not fine.)
Now the rivalry – what’s left of it – returns to Lawrence for the first time since 2005, UM-C is likely to arrive ranked in the top 25, and a national television audience gets to watch KU restore the natural order of things where Good finally triumphs over Evil.
In recent news, the Confederates have claimed the 1960 national championship, even getting a unanimous resolution from the US Senate. All this proves is that of our two senators from Kansas, one is worthless and the other is a coward coasting toward retirement. (I’ll let you figure out which is which. And I don’t know what this says about the senators from Minnesota.) Anyway, the spirit of Bert Coan (rest in peace) won’t stand for it.
Kansas 23, Missouri 7
vs. Arizona State (London)
Kansas and Arizona State will meet at Wembley Stadium in the Union Jack Classic. The Sun Devils are rebuilding their offense after losing Sam Leavitt, Jordyn Tyson, and several other key pieces, while KU has spent the summer preparing to expand its international brand.
The British spent centuries building an empire upon which the sun never set. On September 19, they will learn that the sun also never sets on the Jayhawk Nation. Tea – or maybe Free State Beer – will be dumped into the Thames. Nobody will be entirely sure why.
Arizona State 17, Kansas 76
BYE
The first team to keep Kansas out of the end zone all season. AP voters punish the Jayhawks accordingly and drop them three spots. (We can’t get no respect.) But, for the first time in over a decade, Kansas escapes Bye Week without a loss.
vs. Middle Tennessee
This is the first meeting between the Jayhawks and Blue Raiders, which means there is no series history to twist into evidence. Fortunately, Middle Tennessee sounds enough like Middle Earth that the analysis writes itself.
One does not simply walk into Memorial Stadium. Unless, of course, your athletic department accepted a guarantee check and put the game on the schedule. Then you pretty much do exactly that. Still, Gimli defeats Legolas.
Kansas 43, Middle Tennessee 42
at Utah
Utah beat Kansas 31-21 last November and has now won three straight in the series. The Utes are also ranked #21 in the preseason poll, so this will be the moment when skeptical national observers finally begin to wonder whether Kansas might actually be good. Of course, RCT readers will have known this for weeks.
Two years ago, I predicted Kansas would beat Utah 45-42 in the Big 12 Championship Game. The teams did not meet there, which is the only reason the prediction failed.
I was not wrong; I was early.
Kansas 45, Utah 42
at Kansas State
K-State has won 17 straight in the series, a streak that has moved from annoying to embarrassing. If the Wildcats win the next 12 in a row, which I suppose technically they’re on pace for, they can finally pull even in 2038. Cute.
We should probably stop this before it becomes humiliating. (Or are we already there?) Anyway…
Kansas 65, K-State 53
vs. Baylor
How have we not voted Baylor out of the house yet?
(Blank) Baylor.
Kansas eleventy billion, Baylor thoughts and prayers
at TCU
TCU opened its season by flying to Dublin and losing 15-10 to North Carolina. Kansas will have already crossed the Atlantic, won a football game, and returned home with the Union Jack folded neatly in its carry-on. Apparently our AD believes that international experience matters.
It would be cool to have Nigel King back in Lawrence for this one as the Jayhawks continue to right the wrongs of the past.
Make it happen, @tgoff11
Kansas 34, TCU 30
vs. UCF
Kansas beat Directional Florida 27-20 in Orlando last year. The Citronauts (look it up) now have to come to Lawrence, where there will be no Space Game, no Bounce House, and no Florida weather. I am not sure what is left at that point, so let’s just rinse and repeat.
Kansas 27, Central Florida 20
at Western Virginia
KU beat the Mountaineers 41-10 last season. I could spend time developing a new angle here, but when something works this well, why mess with it? Well, maybe we’ll do them one better this time around.
Kansas 42, Western Virginia 10
vs. BYU
BYU went 12-2 last year, returns quarterback Bear Bachmeier and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year LJ Martin, and begins this season ranked #14. This is a serious football team.
On the other hand, their quarterback is a Bear who plays for the Cougars, which feels like an identity crisis Kansas can exploit. It will be close, but Senior Day ends with another rendition of the Rock Chalk and absolutely no one leaving early.
Kansas 14, BYU 13
at Oklahoma State
For years, I’ve been telling Mike Gundy he should trim the mullet. Oklahoma State responded by firing him, hiring Eric Morris, and replacing 91 players. That seems like an overreaction.
The Cowboys may be much improved after going 1-11, but KU has a national championship to win. Even if Barry Sanders shows up at this one, he ain’t rushing for 312 yards and 5 TDs on us again. Nobody does that against us twice.
Kansas 63, Oklahoma State 24
–
At this point, Kansas is 12-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country. The Jayhawks were picked 12th in the Big 12, so naturally, they will win all 12 regular-season games. This is what the experts call analytics.
Big 12 Championship – Texas Tech
Texas Tech is the preseason favorite to win the league and begins the year ranked #12 nationally. The Red Raiders have money, talent, and money.
Did I mention they have money?
Unfortunately for them, they are facing the #1 team in America and the sport’s most unstoppable narrative. Twelve was a nice ranking for them, though.
Kansas 12, Texas Tech 0
–
KU is now 13-0, holds the top seed in the 12-team College Football Playoff, and receives a first-round bye. The committee is forced to place Kansas in the quarterfinals as the 2026 playoff keeps the 12-team format, with the top four seeds receiving byes. As the top overall seed, Kansas gets first choice of its quarterfinal bowl destination and selects the Cotton Bowl because reasons.
Quarterfinal – Texas
The University of Texas at Austin fled the Big 12 after finally beating Kansas again, presumably believing the SEC would provide a safe distance. Instead, the Longhorns draw KU in their own state. They really should have read the fine print.
Arch Manning produces a heroic performance, and broadcasters mention his uncles approximately 47 times. It is not enough for UT-Austin, but it works for Kansas.
Kansas 47, UT-Austin 42
Semifinal – Georgia
I had Kansas beating Georgia 65-7 in the 2023 national championship game and 63-3 in 2024. Neither game happened, but no doubt due to this stellar reporting, Kirby Smart has clearly spent the intervening years preparing for a possible matchup with Kansas. Credit where it is due: they keep this one MUCH closer.
Kansas 52, Georgia 10
National Championship Game – Indiana
And here we are. The defending national champions against the program taking its turn as college football’s impossible story. Indiana’s 16-0 season proved this can happen. KU’s season proves it is happening again.
The Hoosiers will understand better than anyone what this moment means. They should also understand that in the end, there can be only one.
Kansas 16, Indiana 0
Rock Chalk.